Pictures & Story by Dr. Yvonne D. Nelson People in and around the Whitehaven hairdresser Hazel Moore as the “Mayor of to Moore, it was one she has earned over in the area. Moore came to Whitehaven in 1987 residents who were not originally born and space at 4105 Elvis Presley Boulevard, Fashions. A young woman with a husband, immediately became involved in communieventually became the President of the played a pivotal role in the construction of community have come to know and refer to Whitehaven.” That’s not a title that was just given the years for being an active force for the people sometime after the area began to welcome black raised there. It was around this time that she rented Hazel Moore near Raines Road, and opened Hazel’s Hair Jayne, and four daughters, Moore nearly ty affairs. She was an outspoken person who Friends of the Whitehaven Branch Library and the new branch that currently sits on Raines at Millbranch Road. Hazel Moore has been the recipient of too many awards to mention—Moore was appointed, by three Governor’s of the State of Tennessee, to the Board of Cosmetology. These subsequent appointments lasted over 20 years. Moore is a current member of the Civilian Law Enforcement Review Board, was honored as the Women’s Foundation Legends Award in 2013, received the Memphis City Council’s Humanitarian Award in 2017, and was presented the MLK Luminary Award this past January. She has certainly earned the title she wears and she loves children so much that she established the Academy for Youth Empowerment, a local nonprofit that provides youth from disadvantaged families the opportunity to gain key life skills and experiences that could empower them to be academically enriched, healthy, and, 1993, personally fulfilled in life. Moore is also known for her annual “Back to School” health fair and leadership development programs. The first Whitehaven Christmas Festival and Parade was held in 1998. One of the biggest parades in Memphis, it is always held the Saturday before Thanksgiving in Whitehaven. Yes, Whitehaven is thankful for having a woman like Hazel Moore on its battlefield, but Hazel Moore is not only about receiving awards, she is also about giving them. Not wanting to crowd the field anymore than it is already crowded in February, Moore has began holding her Black History Month programmatics in March. On Sunday, March 10, 2019, she and the Academy for Youth Empowerment sponsored such a program, honoring Art Gilliam of WLOK Radio and Fred Jones of the Southern Heritage Classic along with past legends Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Carter G. Woodson, Benjamin L. Hooks, and Barbara Jordan, at the Abundant Grace Fellowship Church, 1574 East Shelby Drive, where Reverend Dwayne Hunt is the Senior Pastor. Black History program honorees and participants. Photography by Tyrone P. Easley 6
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